Euro Tank Terminal extends jetty at the port of Rotterdam
Working closely with Port of Rotterdam Authority, Euro Tank Terminal (ETT) has extended its jetty in the Calandkanaal resulting in considerably increased jetty occupancy. ‘Now we can load or unload two large tankers at a time.’
Customer Service Team Leader at ETT, Lissy Helbers, talks about the reason behind the project. ‘At our jetty in the Calandkanaal, we receive around 22 VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carrier) a year. These large tankers are over 300 metres long and usually spend three or four days berthed at the jetty. Whenever a VLCC was berthed there, we had too little jetty space to handle a second Large Range (LR) tanker at the same time. With lengths reaching up to 280 metres, LR tankers are slightly shorter than VLCCs. In the last few months, we have extended the jetty by 20 metres and moved the berthing and loading/unloading infrastructure. Now we are able to load or unload a VLCC and an LR tanker simultaneously. This makes a huge difference to our jetty occupancy.’
The jetty extension was planned and carried out in close coordination with Port of Rotterdam Authority. ‘During the preparatory phase, we sat down together to work out the available options along the Calandkanaal. This canal is an important shipping route to various port terminals. We wanted to extend the jetty as much as possible without obstructing other shipping. This aim has been achieved.’
After the extension, on 25 June 2018, ETT was for the first time ever able to receive and handle a VLCC (the Atromitos) and an LR2 tanker (the Ridgebury John Zipser) at its jetty. It was a 450-kilotonne cargo of fuel oil for two different clients. The VLCC was 330 metres long and the LR2 over 270 metres. This meant the jetty’s maximum capacity was being used. It should be noted that when a VLCC is being combined with an LR2 that is longer than 250 metres, ETT will always check at the site to ensure the smaller vessel is properly berthed. ‘After all, safety is paramount.’